Turns out you can just ask Dogmeat to get Fallout 4's Cryolator

Wait... what? Really? After all that wondering how to get Fallout 4's cryolator weapon it appears you can just ask Dogmeat to fetch the thing for you. Usually, without cheating, you'd have to reach level 18 and a Perception of 4 in order to pick the master lock protecting it.

Dogmeat's main skill as a companion is the ability to find enemies and gear. If you ask him to search for items in the same room as the Cryolator (it's one of the first interesting things you see as you're leaving the vault) he'll just get it for you, bypassing the lock completely. Look:

That's... That's a lot easier. I'm sure that'll be one of the first things Bethesda patches out in the next update so you might want to grab it quick. And, if you want to see what it does, then here's our video of how to get it and what it does, made back when you had to earn things. Kids these days etc...